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‘We are going to own this space’ — new Central Medford HS principal offers vision amid transition By Kevin Opsahl Oct 31, 2022 12:30 AM A A Cass Thonstad is the new principal of Central Medford High School. [Jamie Lusch / Mail Tribune] When Central Medford High School Principal Cass Thonstad sat down with her two children to talk about making the move from Newberg to Medford, she had one rule: There would be no mention of pros or cons; only pros. “Anything we say is a con, we say is a pro for the other side,” Thonstad said. “‘Leaving our friends behind’ could be a con for leaving, but you could also say, as a pro, ‘getting to meet new people.’” After Thonstad convinced her kids — twins who are now freshmen at South Medford High School and one seventh grader at Hedrick Middle School — that “Medford is not Mars,” she and her family made the four-hour drive down the interstate to their new home. Thonstand, who served in various capacities in the Newberg School District for 12 years, was appointed principal of CMHS this past summer, replacing Daye Stone, who became the superintendent of Prospect Charter School District. Medford School District Superintendent Bret Champion, who hired Thonstad, praised her leadership at a recent school board meeting. “Leadership matters, and so when Cass came on board to lead Central Medford High School, it changed the conversation about what’s possible,” Champion said. “So I just want to celebrate Cass’ leadership.” Thonstad’s tenure comes during a period of transition for CMHS, one of the Medford School District’s four high schools. Most telling about a transition is the “for sale” sign in front of the building, at 650 Royal Ave., as staff and students look forward to moving into a larger facility off of Airport Road, recently approved for purchase by the school board. But regardless of where CMHS is located, Thonstad wants to focus on boosting the number of students engaged in “project-based learning” as well as improving attendance, especially among pupils who are at CMHS for reasons other than their own. The school is also home to five other programs, including juvenile detention, “Options” for those expelled from North and South Medford high schools and “Transitions” for students ages 18-21 who have a diploma but continue to receive special education services at CMHS. “School doesn’t work for all kids. It’s not one size fits all,” Thonstad said. “The students that are in each of those programs, they need something different.” That difference could be engaging more of them in project-based learning — every six weeks, the students rotate through different workshops, including one on riparian restoration. “North and South have really amazing (career and technical education) programs; that’s what they’re doing — they have these career pathways,” Thonstad said. “What we are doing is applied learning that allows kids to explore, which is different from kids coming in and knowing the pathway they want to take.” Ron Havniear, executive director of facilities, security and leadership, told school board members he appreciated Thonstad’s work regarding project-based learning. “The project-based learning stuff is awesome,” he said. “While we may be a couple years out (from a new CMHS building), I truly feel like Cass is doing a good job of setting those conditions so when we are ready to go, that school’s going to take off.” Thonstad said in an interview that CMHS’s pathways program is intriguing enough that her seventh-grade son is considering attending someday. The new CMHS principal also touts her school’s attendance, up 7% from what it was a year ago. “We had a huge increase, (but) we’re not where we want to be,” she said. “I think kids are having some authentic learning experiences, and they have some agency; they’re getting to pick what that learning looks like.” Even before Thonstad was appointed principal, she got some idea of how she wanted to run the school when she made a pass around the building, and what stood out to her was the “for sale” sign. “A lot of (our students) live in transitions, and they show up every day to a building that’s for sale,” Thonstad said. “It’s really clear this is not our permanent home, either. It really caught my attention.” The hard-to-miss sign led the future principal to ask, “Are we renters, or are we owners?” which led to a more existential question. “Are we renting or owning our experience, in general?” Thonstad said. In that sense, she doesn’t want students and staff who come through CMHS every day to look at their experience as a passive one. “I talked a lot with the staff about, ‘We are going to own this space for the next two years,’” Thonstad said. “We’re going to make sure the kids know this is ours, and they need to own their learning and their experiences.” Reach reporter Kevin Opsahl at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @KevJourno.